Brad Franklin, who retired in October after 36 years as the founding and lead pastor of Lakeside Church, will serve as Grand Marshal of the 2024 Folsom Hometown Parade on Saturday, June 29. The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. and runs along Sutter Street from Scott Street to Reading Street. 

“I love that our growing city still feels like a small town,” said Franklin, who resides in Folsom’s Historic District with his wife and pastoral partner, Donna. “I love the way people connect and serve in our city, and I love that our churches get to be a part of that.”

Franklin will be followed in the parade by a float that will include members of the Lakeside music team who will play live music along the route. Kristen Brown, a leading competitor on The Voice in 2023, will sing “America the Beautiful” to lead the parade. Jessica Visconti of the Visconti’s Ristorante family will sing the national anthem.

The parade is expected to include more than 70 entries, with returning favorites and a large number of new floats including mini donkeys from the Folsom Zoo, Santa’s Cottage from Bacchus House restaurant, roller skating cowboys from the Aquazona pedicure parlor, the Painted Ladies precision equestrian team and a summertime sample of the Historic District’s popular holiday ice rink.

The family-friendly event personifies Franklin’s comment that “’love your neighbor’ expands to ‘love your neighborhood,’ which expands to ‘love your community.’”

The day of the parade will be very active in Folsom’s Historic District with a pancake breakfast; farmers market; live music and Bloody Mary specials at Gaslight  Company; live music at the Folsom Hotel; and special offers at art galleries, stores and restaurants.

For those that are unable to attend the parade, the entire event will be broadcast by livestream by Folsom Times this year. The broadcast is made possible thanks to sponsorship from Bayside Church and the Folsom Historic District Association so residents can watch it live as well as on demand after the event at FolsomTimes.com and the Folsom Times YouTube channel. 

Hometown Country Radio Show returns

Friday evening before the parade will also be a lively time with the third annual Hometown Country Radio Show in the amphitheater behind Scott’s Seafood starting at 7 p.m. The free celebration of country music, which began as an experiment two years ago by local musicians and impresarios Billy J. Walsh and Ian Cornell, proved very popular.

“It is a Grand Ole Opry-style show at the Zittel Family Amphitheater to celebrate the history of country music,” said Walsh, a Folsom resident who performs with his bands the Sky Kings and Rangers. “This is a multi-artist show featuring some of the best country musicians on the west coast, perfect for those who like to dance and sing along.”

The stage will be shared by up to 20 musicians, including Walsh; “The Voice” competitor Kristen Brown; locally-based Nashville recording artist Michael Gregory; Michael Curtis, Jr.;Flying Eugene Flowers; Kevin Jachetta ; Matt Twain; Ian Worley; Danielle Walsh Mata; Sunny Mitchell; Jerry Verseput;Mark Wheeler; Amy, Lizzy and Maddie Malekos; Joe Orlando, Geoffrey Miller; and Mitch Ballard. Cornell serves as guest emcee for the show.

“We will perform a chronology of songs from classic country artists such as Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams, through the country-pop era of Lady A, Lee Ann Womack, Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood; and into the country-rock era of The Eagles, Poco and Linda Ronstadt,” said Walsh. “Stellar musical performances combined with fantastic vocalists will provide an entertaining show unlike any other here in our hometown of Folsom.”

The event is free and family friendly. Walsh said guests are encouraged to arrive early, set-up low-back lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy dinner in the historic district before the show.Beer and wine will be available at the event.

For information on events in Folsom Historic District, visit https://www.historicfolsom.org/.